Words of wisdom from NCHSAA supervisor of officials Mark Dreibelbis

I always try to attend the annual football rules presentation to local officials by Mark Dreibelbis, supervisor of officials for the N.C. High School Athletic Association.

Even though it was a few weeks back, and we've already started the football season, there were plenty of comments he had to share with the officials that I haven't been able to work into a newspaper story. Here are some of the better ones, along with a few of his observations on this year's football rules.

Bands are often a problem at high school football games. The NCHSAA rules say bands are not supposed to play during a live ball. Dreibelbis said unless one or both coaches complains to the officials about the issue, the officials are going to focus on calling the game and not on what the bands are doing. It's up to the school officials on the sidelines to try and keep the bands in check.

Here is Dreibelbis' official definition of an illegal helmet hit. It's an act of initiating contact with the helmet against an opponent. If you hit an opponent with the crown or the top of the helmet, that is a flagrant foul and will result in ejection. He added that illegal helmet-to-helmet contact goes both ways, which means both offensive and defensive players can initiate an illegal hit.

"I hope we're not giving helmet stickers for illegal hits,'' he said.

Dreibelbis said he's concerned about the image of football. "We've got to talk about what a great thing football is,'' he said. "We have to make sure we are stewards of the game.''

It's crazy that this actually had to be added to the rulebook this year, but Dreibelbis said it was. Only the team with the ball can score on an extra point. In other words, if the offensive team managed to get stuck with about five or six unsportsmanlike penalties and wound up with the ball inside its own 20, and a player with the ball gets tackled in the end zone, it's not a safety.

Blocking below the waist is legal only on the initial charge by a lineman. A lineman who is pulling to block cannot block an opponent below the waist.

There are four areas of functionality that a concussion will affect: may cause headache or fatigue, may affect memory or concentration, player may become irritable or sad, player may have trouble falling asleep.

Finally, Dreibelbis told the officials they should be noted for five things: Professionalism, fitness, performance, effort, communication and a job well done.

I think we can all say amen to that.

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